So you decry "all the whining by the LI parents", yet in the same post, you state that it is asinine to reclassify or hold back kids strictly for athletics. Sure, there are numerous reasons why parents hold back their kids from kindergarten which have nothing to do with athletics - but lets be intellectually honest here; we are on a lacrosse blog on an early recruiting thread. the people we LI parents are "whining" about are parents who reclassify or hold back their kids with the strategy that when the younger kids are just hitting puberty, their little Johnny has an obvious physical advantage over the kids he is competing against - with the hopes that he will get on coaches' radar and commit early. That's the plain truth and in my opinion is a stones-throw away from cheating. Sure they will play against older kids in HS, but most D1 early recruiting is not done at Varsity HS games (on LI) primarily because most of those kids already have their commitments in place (not to mention the seasons conflict) . And coaches know the freshman is going against a senior and really don't expect domination against an 18 year old - just grit and determination, and the ability to be athletic and hold one's own. Maybe the source of that whining is also frustration - frustration with driving on the NJTPKE for 6 hours down to watch a group of kids who have worked their assess off lose to what would otherwise be an inferior team because some kid with a 5 o'clock shadow who never comes off the field, is running over kids with 2 hairs under their arms. Just make sure little Johnny knows the physical advantage eventually diminishes to zero by college. And mommy and daddy cant pull a "reclassification" when he is going on a job interview.
This is about a physical advantage for early recruiting - plain and simple - don't put it on the LI parents.


Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
The constant whining about kids being older is really getting stale already. The fact is when they get to high school they are all playing against older and younger kids, and they either sink or swim, its that simple.


So then why hold your kids back??


The system can be fixed very easily by making club teams and tournaments age based instead of grade based. Its no secret that there are certain teams that play their teams down a grade to appear dominant. Going age based would eliminate all that and all the crying by Long Island parents. Again, on a versity team, there are kids ranging from 14-18 depending on the program, and the younger kids learn to compete at that level which makes them better.

As far as the holdbacks, people hold their kids back for many reasons. Some hold their kids back in kindergarten because they dont feel their child is ready. Some folks reclass their kids because they are late birthdays and have fallen behind academically and athletically. I would agree with anyone that holding back your kid for strictly athletic purposes is asinine, but Im sure it goes on all the time.

Concentrate on your kid and what is best for him or her and youll be fine. All the crying and whining about other kids isnt going to change anything and it detracts from what your doing and instills a sense of being a victim in your kid. If a kid is good in the classroom, is a good player, works hard and keeps his nose clean, he/she will be just fine and find a spot that fits him/her.